Theories of Development by Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lawrence Kohlberg

Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lawrence Kohlberg (famous psychologists) described development as a series of age-related changes that occur throughout life.

Stage is defined as a development period in which people show characteristic behaviour patterns and establish specific abilities. The various stage theories share the following three assumptions: 

1) People follow a specific order to pass through different development stages, and the abilities developed in the previous stage form a base for each stage. 

2) Development stages are age-specific. 

3) Development is discontinuous as different qualitative abilities emerge in each stage.

Sigmund Freud’s Theory of Personality 

Through the clinical work with mental illness patients, Sigmund Freud came to a conclusion that an individual‟s behaviour is influenced by childhood experiences and unconscious desires. He stated that conflicts in each stage can have a lifelong impact on personality and behaviour. The psychosexual theory of Sigmund Freud states that child development is a series of stages focused on different pleasure areas of the body. In each stage of development, a child faces conflicts that significantly affect the course of development. This theory suggested that energy of the libido focused on different erogenous zones at specific stages. If a child fails to progress through a stage, that point of development becomes fixed, and may influence adult behaviour.

Following are the stages of childhood psychosexual development: 

1) The Oral Stage (Birth to 1 Year): The sensory area of the mouth delivers the maximum level of sensual satisfaction by sucking, biting, chewing and vocalising for an infant during this period. 

2) The Anal Stage (1to 3 Years): During the toddler period, the second and third years of life, defecating provides the most pleasurable pleasure in the anal and urethral areas. At this point, the atmosphere surrounding toilet training is favourable. 

3) The Phallic Stage (3 to 6 Years): Children get more interested in the genitalia and sensitive areas of the body during this stage. The difference between the sexes is recognised by them and become curious about differences. The oedipal stage occurs at the end of the phallic stage, and it is during this period when the child loves the parent of the opposing sex as a source of fulfilment. 

4) The Latency Stage (6 Years to Puberty): Children build on previously learned qualities and skills, as well as create close relationship with others of their own age and sex during this stage. 

5) The Genital Stage (Puberty to Death): Along with maturation of the reproductive system and the synthesis of sex hormone, secondary traits appear in both sexes throughout puberty. 

Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development 

Erik Erikson believed that personality development occurs throughout life. He proposed a theory in the early 1960s, according to which there are eight stages of development, and in each stage people face new challenges. How people handle these challenges influence the result. There are total eight stages of this theory, which are as follows: Stage 

1: Trust versus Mistrust: Less than 1 year old infants are totally dependent on adults for basic needs (food, comfort, and warmth). If these needs are fulfilled by the caretakers, the infants become attached and develop a sense of trust and security; or else, they develop a mistrustful and insecure attitude. Stage 

2: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt: 

One to three years old toddlers start becoming independent and learning new skills (toilet training, feeding, and dressing). If they face these challenges effectively, they develop a sense of autonomy; or else they develop a sense of doubt and shame about themselves. Stage 

3: Initiative versus Guilt: 

Three to six years old children start controlling their impulses and become social. If they can do this efficiently, they develop selfconfidence; or else, they develop a sense of guilt. Stage 

4: Industry versus Inferiority: 

Six to twelve years old children face peer pressure in school and prepare to take on adult roles. At the end of this stage, they either develop a sense of competence or inferiority. Stage 

5: Identity versus Role Confusion:

 In the period between puberty and adulthood, the adolescents try to determine their identity and direction in life. If they do so successfully, they develop a sense of identity; and if they fail, they remain confused about their aims and goals.

Stage 6: Intimacy versus Isolation: 

Young adults face the challenge of developing intimate relationships with others. If they fail to do so, they may become isolated and lonely. 

Stage 7: Generativity versus Self-Absorption: 

Middle-aged adults work to become productive members of society through jobs or parenting. If they fail to do so, they become self-absorbed. Stage 

8: Integrity versus Despair: 

Old people examine their lives and develop either a sense of satisfaction or a sense of disappointment about their lives. 

The theory of psychosocial development addresses stability as well as change in personality. Personality is stable to some extent because childhood experiences influence people even as adults. Personality also changes and develops throughout life as people face new challenges. This theory of Erikson has a disadvantage that he described only a typical pattern with many stages of development. This theory failed to acknowledge the differences among individuals.

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development 

Jean Piaget‟s theory of cognitive development describes and explains the development of an individual‟s thought processes, and their effect on our understanding and interaction with the world. The theory of cognitive development includes the steps and sequence of children‟s intellectual development: 

1) Sensorimotor Stage: 

It is the time period between birth and 2 years of age during which an infant‟s knowledge about the world is limited to his/her sensory perceptions and motor activities. The infant‟s behaviour is limited to simple motor responses to sensory stimuli. 

2) Pre-Operational Stage: It is the time period between 2 to 6 years of age during which a child learns language. However, he/she does not understand the real logic, cannot mentally manipulate information and cannot take the opinion of others. 

3) Concrete Operational Stage: It is the time period between 7 to 11 years of age during which a child gains better understanding of mental operations. He/she starts thinking logically about real events but is not able to understand abstract or hypothetical concepts. 

4) Formal Operational Stage: It is the time period between 12 years of age to adulthood when an adolescent starts thinking about abstract concepts, and develops skills of logical thinking, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning.

Fowler’s Theory of Spiritual Development 

According to Fowler, faith is a universal human quality exhibited through religious beliefs, rituals, and symbols. It is a multi-faceted and a method to learn about life. Spirituality affects the person mind, body and spirit. Following are the stage of development of faith: 

Stage 0- Undifferentiated: 

During infancy, children have no concept of right or wrong, no beliefs, and no convictions to guide their behaviour. Stage 1- Intuitive Projective: Toddlerhood is mainly about copying actions of others. The religious gestures and behaviour is copied by the children without understanding the significance or purpose of the activity. 

Stage 2- Mythical Literal: 

During this time, spiritual growth is closely linked to children‟s experiences and social connections, and it occurs at the same time as cognitive development. Bad behaviour is penalised and good behaviour is rewarded. 

Stage 3- Synthetic Convention: 

As children approach puberty, they become more sensitive of spiritual dissatisfaction. They may begin to abandon or change some religious behaviour as they learn that prayers are not always answered. 

Stage 4- Individuating Reflexive: 

In this period, adolescence becomes more conscious of self and others‟ emotions, personalities, patterns, behaviours, ideas, thoughts, and experiences. They begin to compare and contrast their parent‟s religious beliefs. Self-concept determines the way that an individual describe themselves. All of an individual‟s concepts, beliefs, and convictions that make up his or her interaction with others are referred to as self-concept.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development 

Lawrence Kohlberg focused on moral reasoning, and proposed that people pass through the following three levels of moral development (each level divided into 2 stages): 

Level 1: The Pre-conventional Level: 

At this level, children ascribe great importance to the authority of adults. In the first stage of this level, an action is wrong if it is punished; and in the second stage, an action is right if it is satisfied. 

Level 2: The Conventional Level: At this level, children follow rules to get approval from others. In the first stage of this level, children want the approval of closed ones; and in the second stage, they become more concerned with the rules of broader society. 

Level 3: The Post-conventional Level: At this level, people become more flexible and consider those personally important to them. In the first stage of this level, people want to follow society‟s rules, but do not see those rules as absolute; and in the second stage, they decide what is right and wrong for them, based on ethical principles.